Ashley Moody will soon transition from the Florida Cabinet to the U.S. Senate.

Moody, who serves as the state’s attorney general, has been selected by Governor Ron DeSantis to fill the Senate seat of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, expected to become the next Secretary of State under President-elect Donald J. Trump.

DeSantis revealed his decision during a news conference held in Orlando on Thursday.

This latest appointment is part of a series of shifts among Florida Republicans as Trump has leaned on personnel from Florida to fill various positions in his upcoming administration.

At the age of 49, Moody is making history as she will be the second woman to serve as Florida’s U.S. Senator, following Paula Hawkins, a Republican who served from 1981 to 1987 but was defeated in her reelection bid by Democrat Bob Graham. Moody became Florida’s Attorney General in 2019, following Pam Bondi’s tenure.

With a background as a federal prosecutor and a state circuit court judge, Moody has deep ties to the Florida legal community. She earned her law degree from the University of Florida in 2001. Her father, James Moody Jr., is a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and was previously appointed by former President Bill Clinton.

After graduating from law school, Moody worked at the Holland & Knight law firm before successfully campaigning for a judgeship on the 13th Circuit Court, located in Hillsborough County, in 2006. Her brother, James Moody III, was appointed as a judge at this same court by DeSantis in 2022.

In 2018, she stepped down from her judgeship to run for Attorney General, where she won against former state Representative Frank White in the primary and later defeated Democrat Sean Shaw in the general election.

Moody has been a strong supporter of Trump, having backed his legal efforts to contest election results in several states following his 2020 defeat to Biden. These challenges were ultimately dismissed by the courts.

Her history indicates she is likely to be a dependable supporter of Trump’s policies in the Senate, particularly regarding a tough stance on immigration enforcement, a key criterion specified by DeSantis for his nominee.

After the election in November, when faced with the Senate vacancy, DeSantis expressed on X:

“Florida needs a Senator who will assist President Trump in fulfilling his election objectives, advocate for strong immigration and border security, confront the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s financial downturn, be driven by conservative values, and demonstrate a proven history of achievements.”

This is an evolving news story. 

Gray Rohrer is a reporter. He can be contacted on X: @GrayRohrer.